


Low Card

by TheGreatCatsby



Series: Wild Cards [4]
Category: All-New X-Factor, X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Asexual Character, Grey-Asexuality, Havok - Freeform, M/M, Maximoff family, all-new x-factor - Freeform, gambit - Freeform, issue 12 spoilers, polaris - Freeform, quickbit, quicksilver - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-28
Updated: 2014-08-28
Packaged: 2018-02-15 04:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2215989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatCatsby/pseuds/TheGreatCatsby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“So...that was a bit worse than name changing, right?”</p>
<p>X-Factor's press conference doesn't go as planned. Predictably, it's Pietro's fault.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Low Card

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for All-New X-Factor 12 which, if you haven't read it, I suggest you do. Enjoy! (And there will be more!)

“So...that was a bit worse than name changing, right?” 

Lorna hid her head in her hands, green hair hanging down like a curtain to cover her face. “Shut up,” she mumbled. 

“It's not a complete disaster,” Doug said to Remy. “I mean, honesty--”

“--is what gets you killed,” Remy finished. 

“I admire Pietro's honesty,” Danger chimed in. 

“Self agrees with Danger,” Warlock added. 

Remy sighed and slumped further in his own chair. As far as press conferences went, Serval Industry's first was a disaster. “It doesn't have ta do with what you admire,” he said. “It has ta do with what actually happened. And Pietro admitted that he's pretty much a criminal who deserves to be put in jail.” 

“Don't say that,” Lorna said, raising her head to glare at him. 

“What's the take-away from all this?” Remy asked. 

“He's still part of the team,” Lorna said. “He was willing to come clean. That means that he wants to be a better person. Like all of us.” 

“I'm not denying that,” Remy said. In truth, his feelings were complicated. His brain felt like a blender with all the wrong ingredients tossed inside. He'd suspected Pietro of one thing and found out something that was much worse. 

“Snow isn't firing him,” Lorna added. “We should go talk to him.” 

“My experience indicates that in these situations perhaps it is best to leave the person alone,” Danger said, “so they can regroup.” 

Lorna groaned. “I don't know! I'm trying, I really am, but I don't know what to do.” 

“Give him time,” Doug said. “I think Danger's got a point. He'll want time to pull himself together. He took a beating out there.” 

“He gave himself that beating,” Remy muttered. 

Lorna rested her elbows on her knees. “I just wanted a nice press conference,” she said, “where I could introduce the team and everyone would be happy and we could go about our business. Just once.” 

Remy crossed the room in a few steps and placed a comforting hand on Lorna's shoulder. “S'all right,” he said. “They all liked you.” 

“Thanks, Remy,” Lorna muttered, sharply brushing his hand off. 

“No problem,” Remy said with a half smile. 

**

Nothing happened in a vacuum, especially not press conferences. By that evening Pietro's confession of guilt was all over the news. Remy turned the TV off before he could see the Avengers' comments. He didn't want to know what they thought of the whole disaster, especially because he had the feeling the Avengers already looked down on the X-Factor team. He didn't know why, but sometimes he felt like the Avengers could be elitist pricks sometimes. 

(He actually did know why and its name was Havok, but he was too polite to say that to everyone else.) 

The thing was, he wanted to talk to Pietro. But he also had to think. And there were other people who needed to talk to him first. Like Lorna. Lorna was family. And she needed to sort through more shit than Remy did, for better reasons. 

Other people had what they called “deal breakers,” certain things that would make them not want a relationship with a person. Remy prided himself on being open minded. He always claimed that he was up for anything. 

But he had morals. Even though he was a thief, there were some lines he didn't cross. Pietro had crossed a lot of those lines, and then he hadn't owned up to it. He'd hurt a lot of people in a way that Remy found, frankly, unacceptable. A lot of people shared that view, too, judging from the reactions in the crowd. And clearly Pietro knew it, because he'd lied about it for so long. 

Would this be his first deal breaker? 

At the moment, he honestly couldn't say. 

**

Lorna looked up from her newspaper that she wasn't really reading (to distract herself from the breakfast she wasn't really eating) to see Pietro sitting across from her, looking like he hadn't slept all night. She wasn't surprised; she hadn't slept well either. 

“If you want me off the team,” Pietro said, “you can tell me. I honestly wouldn't blame you.” 

“And good morning to you,” Lorna said. 

“I thought we could skip the pleasantries,” Pietro said, “given the situation.” 

“Actually, I'm glad you found me,” Lorna said, folding up the paper and placing it aside. “I was going to talk to you.” 

Pietro nodded and seemed to steal himself for her words. “I thought so.” 

“It's good you did what you did at the press conference,” Lorna said. “It must've been hard.” 

“And you probably hate me for it,” Pietro said. “You have a criminal on your team. A murderer. A liar.” 

“I don't,” Lorna said. “Hate you, that is. You're still a criminal and kind of a dick. But it just shows me how much I don't know you. You're my brother but I really don't know you.” 

“And now you do,” Pietro said with a grim smile. 

“No,” Lorna said, taking a deep breath, “but I want to. And I think this team is a good thing for both of us. You've changed. You wouldn't have admitted anything a few months ago. And a few months from now...” 

“Someone will probably manage to kill me or throw me in prison,” Pietro said, leaning forward. “Are you really not upset?” 

“I am,” Lorna said. “But you owned up to what you did. You took responsibility. I trust you. Danger and Warlock admire that and Doug seems to agree with them on everything. Remy...well, he'll come around.” 

Pietro nodded, slowly. “I used to fancy myself better than everyone,” he said. “But I am not a good person. I'm worse than all of you.” 

“Not everyone,” Lorna said. “The point is, you're on the team, if you want it. That's what I wanted to say. Well, that and if you ever go off the deep end again, I won't hesitate to kill you.” 

“Thanks,” Pietro muttered. 

They sat in silence for some time, and then Pietro said, softly, “Luna came to see me yesterday. She saw everything.” 

“What did she say?” 

Pietro smiled, an actual, genuine smile. “She said she was proud. She hadn't talked to me in ages, Lorna, because she knew the truth and she couldn't respect me for not telling it. That nearly broke me, but I just...I thought I couldn't.” 

“Oh.” Lorna had the sudden urge to hug Pietro, but she wasn't sure if that was weird or not. They hadn't hugged in a long time. “That...that's wonderful.” 

Pietro pushed his chair back and stood up. “I want to stay on the team,” he said. “Because you're right. It is doing good. For both of us.” And then he was gone. 

Lorna looked down at her cold eggs and remembered when the team was just her, Remy, and Pietro, and how no one seemed to trust anyone else's motivations for being on the team. 

And now the whole thing should've imploded, leaving Lorna alone in the rubble. 

But it hadn't. 

And Lorna thought that maybe it was because she was actually doing something right. Maybe they all were. 

**  
“I suppose you're angry as well.” 

Remy looked up. Pietro was leaning against the frame of his door. “Yeah, committing horrible crimes and then lying about it throws a real wrench inta the works.” 

“I know,” Pietro said. 

Remy took the closest cat—Lucifer—into his arms and started stroking his back. It was nice to have something to do that wasn't staring at Pietro's face. “I have some thinking ta do.” 

“Understandably,” Pietro said. There was no inflection to his words. 

He was turning to leave when Remy remembered the other thing he wanted to know, the thing that Pietro hadn't mentioned in the press conference. “Were you actually spying on us for the Avengers?” 

Pietro gave him a long look. “I think you know the answer to that.” 

“I want ta hear you say it,” Remy said. 

“I spied on the team for the Avengers,” Pietro said, flatly. “I don't anymore. I'm not an Avenger.” With that, he spun around and shut the door behind him. 

Remy wanted to ask why. But he didn't move. 

**

Lorna looked like she was about to throw the laptop in front of her into the nearest wall. Or person. 

“Trouble?” Remy asked, sitting across from her with a mug of coffee in his hands. She glanced up at him, and Remy shivered as her anger, briefly, was directed his way. 

But then it disappeared, and she sighed, looking back at the computer. “We've got a lot of questions from the press, from other mutants, and,” she groaned, “from the Avengers.”

“The Avengers?” Remy repeated, raising an eyebrow. “What do they want?” 

“Alex wants to point out I should've seen this coming,” Lorna said. “He says that Pietro's loyalties are so changeable that it's no surprise that he lied to everyone as well, and that he shouldn't be part of any team. Even if he wasn't a criminal, he doesn't have the commitment.” 

“He makes it sound like he was never on a team with Pietro,” Remy said. “What'd you say?” 

“I told him that his concern is idiotic,” Lorna replied. She shut the laptop. “I don't think he'll actually drop it.” 

“Nah, he doesn't seem like the kinda guy to let things go easily,” Remy said. 

Sure enough, he wasn't. 

The next day he appeared at Serval Industries, looking highly annoyed and very determined for something to happen. The secretary dropped him off in a meeting room and Lorna went to meet him. Remy accompanied her, mostly because he thought that Lorna shouldn't have to deal with that asswipe on her own. 

As soon as he saw them, Alex demanded, “I want Pietro in here, too.” 

“Then I don't need to be here,” Lorna said. 

“No,” Alex snapped. “I want you both in here. I have something to say.” 

“Don't you always,” Remy muttered as Lorna made a call for Pietro through the intercom. 

He arrived seconds later wearing his Serval hoodie and looking completely unsurprised to see Alex standing there. “Havok,” he said, closing the door. 

“You have some nerve,” Alex said, advancing on him, “running out on our meeting like that. Pretending you're too good to even think about rejoining the Avengers when, in fact, you're not good enough for any team.” 

“What are you talking about?” Lorna asked. 

Alex shoved Pietro against the door, hard. Remy couldn't stop himself from shouting “Whoa!” but Pietro merely said, “Let him finish.” 

“Tell them,” Alex said. “Tell them what you've been doing.” 

“Alex asked me to spy on the team,” Pietro said, making an effort to look at Lorna past Alex. “He wanted me to check on your well being in particular, Lorna. So I reported back to him. The day of the press conference, he told me I was done, that I could join the Avengers again. I walked out on him. I wanted to stay here.” 

“Why?” Lorna asked, her voice dangerously calm. 

“I care about you,” Pietro said, quietly. 

“He's a criminal,” Alex said. “He lied to us all. I doubt he cares about anyone except himself. Look at all the terrible things he's done, all the times he's switched sides. He deserves to be arrested. So, Pietro, tell us, why'd you do it?” 

“Which part?” Pietro asked. 

Alex pulled his arm back, ready to strike, but Lorna thrust her hands out and he went flying into the opposite wall. She held him there, eyes blazing with rage. “You don't hit my brother,” she hissed. 

“Lorna--” Pietro started, but she cut him off. 

“And you don't say a word. You spied on me.” 

“I know,” Pietro said. “I'm sorry. I'm not good at...I tend to be an overbearing brother.” 

Alex laughed. “Excuses, excuses,” he said. “Nothing you say can make up for what you've done. You're a bad person, Pietro, face it. Always have been, always will be.” 

Pietro moved forward in a blur, grabbing Alex and pulling him to the floor, then slamming him against the wall. Remy glanced at Lorna, who looked shocked. 

“I wasn't well,” Pietro growled. “Is that what you wanted to hear? I stood to lose everything. At one point I did. I jumped off a roof thinking it would fix my problems. It was a dark time for me. I've made a lot of bad choices, but you do not get to tell me why. All you need to know is that I'm sorry. I wish I could make things right. I'm trying to be a better person.” 

He stepped back and let Alex go, allowing him to drop to the floor. Remy took a deep breath, not sure what to do. The only thing he was sure of was that he'd intruded on a private moment. 

“It doesn't matter,” Alex said, picking himself up. “You're still on a c-list team. I suppose that's punishment enough for an elitist like you. And you don't even deserve that.” 

“C-list?” Lorna repeated. “We get the job done. We've saved lives. Apparently you're too busy thinking about where you rank to really care about what you're doing.” 

“You shouldn't even have him on your team,” Alex insisted. “He wants to do to you what he did to Wanda—keep her to himself, keep her from reaching her true potential.” 

“That's not true,” Pietro said. 

“Oh come on,” Alex said, rolling his eyes. “For years you wouldn't let Wanda make any decisions without you approving. You went everywhere together. You convinced her to change the world and she did it. You've been controlling her for her whole life and now that she doesn't need you, you want to control Lorna.” 

“And you're different?” Lorna asked. “Sending someone to spy on me to make sure I was toeing the line?” 

“I was concerned,” Alex said. 

“And I was wrong,” Pietro snapped. He wasn't looking at Alex. He was looking at Lorna again, as if pleading with her to understand. 

“Yeah, you said that Wanda doesn't need you,” Alex said, “but you said Lorna does.” 

Lorna glanced at Pietro, who had returned to glaring at Alex. “I did, but not in the way that I thought she would.” 

“Should I go?” Remy asked. This whole thing was starting to feel really domestic, and he'd already found out things he was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to know. Things that were messing with his head. 

“You stay here,” Alex snapped. “You're a neutral party.” 

“What are you trying to accomplish?” Lorna asked. “Ruining Pietro? Convincing me that you're better? Getting him off the team? Because you're not doing a good job, Alex. In fact, you're just making me angry.” 

“You don't want ta make her angry,” Remy said. 

“You're telling me you're not gonna do anything?” Alex asked. “You're just gonna let him stay on the team?” 

“If that's what he wants,” Lorna said. 

“I do,” Pietro said to Alex. “Wanda doesn't need me anymore. Lorna can handle herself. But I need them.” 

Lorna turned to Alex, her hands raised. “I'd get out now if I were you.” 

Alex made a frustrated noise. “You'll regret keeping him around,” he said, before leaving. The door slammed behind him. 

“That was...something,” Remy said. 

“I need a drink,” Pietro muttered, and he darted out of the room. 

Remy glanced at Lorna, whose anger had been replaced by exhaustion. “I hate dealing with assholes,” she muttered. 

“He's your ex,” Remy pointed out. 

Lorna narrowed her eyes at him. “Shut up.” 

“I'm leaving,” Remy said. Lorna slumped into one of the chairs as he closed the door behind him. 

**

Pietro was in the kitchen, pouring clear liquid that definitely wasn't water into a glass. When he saw Remy, he raised the glass and swallowed the liquid in one gulp.

The bottle of vodka on the counter was half empty. 

“You don't waste time,” Remy said. 

“That's all I'm good for,” Pietro said. 

“Ah, so it's a pity party you're throwing tonight.” Remy moved forward and grabbed the bottle, taking a swig. Pietro made a face. 

“That is disgusting” he said. 

“So I'm guessing you're not a fan of Havok?” Remy asked, leaning against the counter. 

Pietro snatched the bottle from him and scoffed. “Is anyone?” 

“Your sister was,” Remy said. 

Pietro poured himself another glass and took the shot, grimacing. “We all make mistakes.” 

“You more than anyone,” Remy said. 

Pietro allowed himself to sag against the counter. “I'm sure that was informative for you.” 

“Very,” Remy said, taking the vodka bottle back. “I'm still processing it.” Pietro ran a hand through his hair. “So all that stuff you said was true?” 

“It was,” Pietro said. “Unfortunately. God, I--” He paused, swallowing. 

“What?” Remy asked. 

“I'm so tired,” Pietro said. “Everything is just...it all seems to happen at once.” He looked so hopeless. It worked at Remy's addled mind with all the other things he was still thinking about. 

“I could help you relax,” he said, moving closer. 

Pietro frowned at him. “I thought you were angry.” 

“I was,” Remy said. “But you owned up ta everything you did. And we've all made mistakes. At least now I know what I'm dealing with.” He placed a hand on Pietro's shoulder. Pietro jerked away. 

“You're dealing with a liar,” he said. “A murderer. Someone who's tried and failed to get away from the path his terrorist of a father created for him.” 

“A member of the team,” Remy added. 

“How sweet,” Pietro muttered. “I know what you want.” He turned, brushing his lips against Remy's. Remy tried to press his lips harder against Pietro's, but Pietro moved back. “I don't need it.” 

“Don't need what,” Remy asked. The vodka was creating a lovely buzz in his head. He felt more relaxed, which was an accomplishment given the day he'd just had. Pietro's cheeks were flushed, but his eyes were sharp. Remy remembered something about fast metabolism. 

“You want sex,” Pietro said, quietly. His eyes bore into Remy's, searching for his every reaction. “I'm not interested in sex. I need a certain kind of intimacy right now, but not that. I need to know if you can live with that.” The words sunk in, but they were hard to understand.

“What d'you—is this because of your wife?” Remy asked. 

“No,” Pietro said. “It's not.” 

Remy glanced down at the small space between them, then back up at Pietro's face. “I couldn't possibly answer that with you standing so close.” 

Pietro stepped away, leaving cold air in his place, and Remy immediately regretted his words. “You're drunk. Think about it when you're not,” he said, and then he was gone. 

Remy cradled the bottle of vodka and stared at the place where Pietro had been, turning the words over and over in his head. He suddenly felt as exhausted as Pietro had looked the past few days, but he couldn't find it in himself to move. He was still trying to understand. 

Lorna found him there some time later and asked, “What's wrong?” 

“Your brother,” Remy replied. 

Lorna's lips twitched upwards. “Isn't it always.”


End file.
